How to Make a Logo in GIMP:
Nine easy steps to create a professional business logo in GIMP.
Download the application.
Navigate to GIMP.org.
From the GIMP home page, click on "DOWNLOAD" in the top banner.
Ensure that you have selected the appropriate operating system and click on the relevant link.
Install the application on your computer.
GIMP requires roughly 200 MB of free space to be installed.
An Intel Pentium 4 CPU or equivalent is sufficient to run GIMP.
A minimum of 25MB of RAM is needed for the application to operate effectively.
Set up the file.
Create a new document.
Launch GIMP, click on "File" in the main menu bar, and select "New" from the drop-down menu.
Set the image size.
In the pop-up window, set the image width and height to 1000 pixels (px) and click on "OK."
You can also select from a range of preset image sizes in the "Template" drop-down menu.
In the "Advanced Options" drop-down menu, you can set the background color by clicking on the "Fill with" box and selecting an option, such as "Foreground," "Transparent," "Pattern," or "White," as we are doing in this example.
Create a save file.
It's important to save your GIMP image regularly to avoid losing any work.
Go to "File" in the main menu bar and select "Save As..." from the drop-down menu.
Give your image a name, specify the save location on your computer, and click on "Save."
You can quickly save your progress as you work with the "Ctrl/Cmd + S" shortcut.
Create guides.
Guides will help to automatically align elements in your document.
Click on "Image" in the main menu bar, hover over "Guides," and select "New Guide (by Percent)..."
Set the direction to horizontal, the position (in percent) to 50, and click on "OK."
Repeat the process, this time setting the direction to vertical and the position (in percent) to 50.
Click on "View" in the main menu bar and select "Snap to Guides" from the drop-down menu.
Create a shape.
Create a new layer.
In the main menu bar, click on "Layer" and select "New Layer" from the drop-down menu.
Name your layer "Main Shape" and click on "OK."
You can also create a new layer by clicking on the icon in the bottom left of the layers panel.
Select the Ellipse Select tool.
From the tools panel in the top left corner, right-click on the "Shape" tool and select the "Ellipse Select" tool.
Draw your shape.
Click and drag on the canvas to create the shape.
You can resize the ellipse by dragging the corner boxes of the shape.
Click and drag the image and align it to the guides.
Add some color.
Select the Gradient tool.
From the tools panel in the top left corner, right-click on the "Bucket Fill" tool and select the "Gradient" tool.
Create the gradient.
You can click and drag in any direction to create the gradient. In this example, we'll create a vertical gradient by dragging the tool down the center guide.
The length of the gradient line will determine the size of the gradient spectrum.
Change the colors of the gradient.
Click on the "Foreground Color" block on the left menu bar to select the first color of the gradient.
Click on the "Background Color" block to select the second color of the gradient.
Create an icon.
Use a reference image.
Download a reference image to use as a guide for constructing the shape of the icon. In this example, we're going to use the image of a leaf.
The GIMP canvas is 1000 x 1000 px, so 500 x 500 px is large enough for the reference image.
Go to "File" in the main menu bar and select "Open as Layers."
Select the reference image and click on "Open."
GIMP may need to convert the image to the appropriate format. To do this, simply click on "Convert" in the pop-up window.
You can also drag and drop the image into the GIMP project.
With the reference image layer selected, set the opacity to 50% at the top of the layers panel.
Resize the reference image.
Right-click on the reference image layer and select "Scale Layer..." from the pop-up menu.
Ensure that the "Width" and "Height" boxes are linked in order to maintain the image's aspect ratio.
Set the width to roughly 450 px and click on "Scale."
Use the up and down arrows on either the "Width" or "Height" boxes to refine the size of the image.
Position the reference image.
From the tools panel in the top left corner, select the "Move" tool.
Click and drag the reference image into position on the ellipse.
Select the Paths tool.
Create a new layer and name it "Icon." Then, from the tools panel in the top left corner, click on the "Paths" tool.
Create the icon's path.
Pick a starting point and click to add an anchor point with the Paths tool. When you click again, a straight line will automatically be generated and connect the two anchor points.
Click on the middle of the straight line and drag it toward the top left corner to create an arch.
Use the orange tangent lines to adjust the amplitude of the curves.
Repeat the process by creating and curving more lines.
Hold down Ctrl+Cmd when clicking on an existing anchor point in order to connect them.
Refine the icon's path.
Adjust the anchor points and arch handles to refine the position and curves of the path until you are happy with the shape of your icon.
Once you're happy with the shape of the icon, you can hide the reference image by clicking on the corresponding eye icon in the layers panel.
Complete the icon.
Create a stroke for the icon.
Select a color from the color "Foreground Color" box — in this example, we are going to set it to white.
Click on "Stroke Path" on the left menu tab to bring up the outline options.
Ensure that the "Stroke Line," "Solid Color," and "Antialiasing" boxes are checked.
Change the weight of the line by adjusting the pixels in the "Line width" box.
Click on "Stroke" to apply the outline to the path.
You can experiment with different line options by expanding the "Line Style" menu.
Create a fill for the icon.
Create a new layer and label it "Icon Fill." Similar to creating a stroke for the icon, we can fill the icon with a color.
Ensure that the foreground color box is set to white.
Click on "Fill Path" in the left menu tab to bring up the fill options.
Check the "Solid Color" and "Antialiasing" boxes, then click on "Fill."
You can also fill the icon with a pattern by checking the "Pattern" box.
Add your business name.
Select the Text tool.
From the tools panel in the top left corner, select the "Text" tool.
Click anywhere on the page to create a text box and type in your business name. A new layer will automatically be created for the text.
Change the text color.
Highlight the text and click on the color block in the bottom-right corner of the window above the text box to change the color of the text.
You can change the color of individual letters by highlighting the letter and selecting a color.
Change the font.
Adjust the look of your text by selecting a font from the "Font" drop-down menu in the left menu tab.
You can also change the text size in this menu tab by adjusting the "Size" box.
You can change the size of individual letters by highlighting the letter and changing the size.
Position the business name.
From the tools panel in the top left corner, select the "Move" tool.
Click on the text to position the business name.
Create variations of your logo.
Compare different styles of your design.
Once you've completed the general structure of your logo, you can start to play with the details. You can click on the eye icon next to the fill layer to hide it, leaving just the stroke path of the icon, for example.
Try different background colors, shape outlines, fonts, and arrangements to refine the look of your logo. This will help you picture what your logo will look like in different contexts and help you make a final decision.
Make copies of the original path.
Create a new layer and label it "Icon Stroke 2."
Click on the "Paths" tab above the layers panel and double-click on the icon path layer.
Now you can create a new stroke and fill for the icon in a different color by following the same process as in step 6.
Save the logo to your device.
Export your logo.
Once you're happy with your logo design, you can export it in various file formats.
Click on "File" in the main menu bar and select "Export As..."
Select a file format.
In the pop-up window, expand the "Select File Type (By Extension)" option to view the various image formats.
Specify the file name and destination folder on your computer.
PNG and GIF are high-resolution formats and will keep the background of your logo transparent.
A JPG uses algorithms to compress the image for a smaller file size and will keep a solid background.
Once you've selected a file format, click on "Export" in the bottom-right corner.
How to Make a Logo in Photoshop
FAQs:
How do I create a logo with GIMP?
You can create your own logo using GIMP by following our step-by-step guide.
How do you make a design on GIMP?
- Download the application.
- Create a new image in GIMP.
- Create a shape.
- Add some color.
- Create an icon.
- Complete the icon.
- Add your business name.
- Create variations of your logo.
- Export your logo.
How do I make a YouTube logo in GIMP?
- Think about the type of content that you create and your target market.
- Draw inspiration from some existing YouTube logos.
- Download GIMP and follow our step-by-step guide to create a logo.
- Share the logo with friends and family and request their feedback.
- Refine the design based on the feedback and export it.
What size should I make my logo in GIMP?
GIMP is a raster-based design application and scaling images will result in quality loss. Therefore, the bigger the image for your logo, the better. We suggest a minimum of 1000 x 1000 px to be safe.
Is GIMP good for logos?
Although vector-based applications, such as Adobe Illustrator are considered to be the best programs for logo design, GIMP is an excellent, free alternative. Moreover, the open-source software allows users to add new tools and functions to the source code.
